9 Comments:

Anonymous said...

just so you know, i was just driving on that road and had the same thought, but was able to find out some info you may not have found...

at first yours was the first link google showed me. but then i found that isaac underhill willets owned one if the biggest farms in the mid-1800's in that area. his farm is now the golf course that you pass along i.u. willets road. so there you go...

Thank you for find this out. I also went to ASK.com his name and only got information on the happenings and places on the ROAD. I appreciated the help when I thought to just google the name and your web page popped up.

My friends and I were trying to think of a name that would fit..we all came up with Ishmael Ulysses and that is why the man chose to use initial instead of his real name.

The story I was told growing up in the area was that I.U. Willets owned property in the area and built this road so his daughter could get to his home from her home. His home was Old Westbury Gardens and she lived on the other end of the road. I have never been able to confirm this but it makes sense.

Old Westbury Gardens was the Phipps estate, and not related to IU Willets. IU Willet's home was just off Shelter Rock Road, south of the road that bears his name, it what is now the Links development. It was on old abandonned golf course until about 1992, when homes were built there.

The old golf course! The hidden bamboo patch, and the remains of the Old Motor Highway... Me and Gene passed many a fine afternoon there in High School... doing things that by all rights should have gotten us arrested.